Hey guys! I’ve recently started doing a little research into some of the Simplified Chinese (Tournament) cards, specifically cards that have a very limited print run, and would love to get your thoughts and opinions!
The ones that have caught my attention are the ‘Battle of The Kings’ competition cards given out to the winners of the respective season.
Season 3 split into two halves: “Kahili & Mina” - 150 copies each given out to the winners of each half
So, if I am not mistaken the artworks themselves are not unique to Simplified Chinese, maybe with the exception of The Masked Royal which wasn’t released in English? But that probably answers my next question; why are they still so easily obtainable?
If you go on eBay now, you can find the latter three with multiple listings on eBay for, in my opinion, a reasonable price.
Why do you think this is? Is it just because they are trainer cards and the only difference is a stamp? The fact that they are in Chinese and the market trends haven’t reached them yet? Or is it that not many people know about them?
Either way, I am curious to hear all of your opinions and thoughts!
The Masked Royal full art was also released as tournament winning promos in Japanese (100 copies - Shining Legends Sealed Game events at various locations and dates in July-September 2017) and Korean (30 copies - Royal Mask Tournament on November 11, 2017).
As for your question about value, I’m not sure. I do agree that the 4-5k USD prices for The Masked Royal with unique artwork released in just Japanese, Korean, and S.Chinese; and just 500-650 bucks for the Olivia, Kahili, and Mina cards, are indeed pretty affordable for cards with just 300 copies available.
In general though, non-English and non-Japanese cards are never too popular, minus some exceptions. The S.Chinese exclusive artworks are doing pretty well, but these three above are still reprints of other languages. The Olivia, Kahili, and Mina are widely available in both English and Japanese (and like 9 or 10 additional languages besides S.Chinese). And although The Masked Royal is rightfully more expensive than those two with its unique artwork, it isn’t a popular female card, so therefore still somewhat affordable. (Take the Japanese Extra Battle Day promos for example: 396/SM-P Guzma in PSA-10 is just 5-6k USD, and the 397/SM-P Lillie in PSA-10 is close too 100k.. Kinda like Charizard vs Poliwrath for the 1st edition Base Set. Exact same release, way different values.)
In general though: Chinese cards aren’t too popular outside of China overall. Only English and Japanese is popular worldwide in terms of the 16 available TCG languages. It’s simply supply-and-demand, I guess.
Exact same release, way different values.)